Mini iPads came to Kelsie Fancher’s classroom this past spring. They were used daily as math centers and occasionally as reading centers, as well. “We have big plans for utilizing them a lot more next year in all subjects,” Miss Fancher said.

The iPads helped students memorize their math facts in a fun way that they enjoyed a lot more than flash cards and timed tests.

In addition to the iPads, a number of odds and ends were added around the classroom as part of this mini grant, including privacy shields and individual CD players.

Even in first grade, students have “wandering eyes,” and the privacy shields prevented students from looking at their neighbors’ papers so Miss Fancher could assess what each child knew instead of what their neighbor knew.

The individual CD players were a huge hit in the listening center. Five students could use a CD player to listen to a story on CD and then answer questions about it. This was fun for the students, and they didn’t even realize they were becoming better readers by listening to someone read to them with good fluency.